What up with the Dems first 100 hour Goals??

[bradvo]

I have not heard anything if they acomplished what they said or not.
To tell ya the truth, I forgot what they said they were going to do in the first 100 hours. Did they also?

[coolchange]

Probably didnt hear much around here because they did it with time to spare...on to the Senate then to the worlds craziest person.....

[Go Aweigh2452]

They also said they'd work a 5 day week but blew that off the first week in session... surprise... not... :roll:

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."

Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Time remaining until 100 hours: Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.

Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds _ "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday.

All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority.

To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. Details will have to be worked out, she emphasized.

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and the answer is......

With more than 57 hours to spare, early Thursday evening, Democrats passed the last of their "Six for '06" plan — a renewable energy measure that adds $15 billion in new fees, royalties and taxes for the oil industry — 264-123, and prepared to turn off the clock.
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my take...

But lets look at that royalty fee charged on the oil industry... ANything over I think $50 per barrel and the oil companies must pay a royalty (fee) to the government... Now where I come from a Royalty is charged on a product that YOU made (like writing a book)... since you did the work, you are owed a "royalty"... SO what did government do to "earn" a royalty?

This one will probably be one of the first bills Pres Bush will actually veto... I hope...

[SomeSailor]

Now where I come from a Royalty is charged on a product that YOU made (like writing a book)... since you did the work, you are owed a "royalty"... SO what did government do to "earn" a royalty?

Where I come from... (Texas) we've been collecting royalties for years. What they do is this. If you have the mineral rights for your property, and oil company will come in and pay you certain lease rights, and mineral rights to the petroleum beneath. Part of the deal is normally in the form of royalties that are paid when they actually extract the oil from your property, and bonuses when the rate exceeds a certain production level.

My Grandparents made a pretty decent living on oil royalties paid on their little 150 acres. If you're driving across Texas, just look for the big houses on what used to be farm dirt :)

If you don't factor in royalties, you're likely gonna have them pump the pil when it's cheap... store it when its not. With royalties, it behoves the oil companies to keep the oil flowing smoothly (and prices lower), than to allow a surge in demand to let prices escalate. (royalties kick in).

[kirkster5]

The "Royalty" is paid to the people who own the lands that the oil is being extracted from. Those people are you and me as these lands our public lands that the oil companies are allowed to extract minerals, in this case oil. It would be nice to get this in the form of a check to each taxpayer as they do in Alaska(permanent fund dividens) but that's not how it is set up. So I guess putting the money toward govt function/misfunction will have to do. The Oil companies have been given free use of "our" resources,charging the owners of these resources(you and me) prices that have been giving them record profits at our expense.
It would be like you or me having a pear tree that we allow someone else to come in harvest the fruit and sell it back to us for huge profits and you not getting a cut of the profits from the tree that you own on your land. How do I sign up?

[Go Aweigh2452]

It would be like you or me having a pear tree that we allow someone else to come in harvest the fruit and sell it back to us for huge profits and you not getting a cut of the profits from the tree that you own on your land. How do I sign up?

Oh, you mean like indians taking shell fish from your beach front property and keeping them with no "royalty" paid to the property owner?

Well, here is a "peach of a story"... for someone that dislikes military...

Speaker pursues military flights
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 1, 2007


The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing the Bush administration for routine access to military aircraft for domestic flights, such as trips back to her San Francisco district, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
The sources, who include those in Congress and in the administration, said the Democrat is seeking regular military flights not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation. A knowledgeable source called the request "carte blanche for an aircraft any time."
"They are pressing the point of her succession and that the [Department of Defense] needs to play ball with the speaker's needs," one source said. The request originally went to the Pentagon, which then asked the White House to weigh in.
Mrs. Pelosi's request is not new for a speaker, who is second-in-line in presidential succession. A defense source said the speaker's regular access to a military plane began after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican, who was speaker at the time, started using U.S. Air Force planes for domestic travel to and from his district for security reasons. A former Hastert aide said the congressman did not use military planes for political trips or regularly transport his family.

[Randygh]

The Bureau of Land Management (US Dept of Interior) and the US Forest Service (US Dept of Ag) are the largest public land owners in the western, lower 48 states. The BLM regulates grazing and mining on its properties in an effort to earn a few dollars. The USFS allows grazing and timber harvest in its forests, although timber harvest here in the PNW is much less than 20 yrs ago. Interestingly, management of grazing allotments frequently costs us (US citizens) more than what is received in payment for the grazing rights and generally the livestock owner pays less than it costs to graze on private property. Same is true with Forest Service timber sales. It costs more to do an EIS, cruise the timber, mark boundaries, watch for encroachment on stream buffer zones, enforce reclamation and replanting, etc. than what is received in payment for the timber. Such a deal for us.

[Roel Jansen]

I don't think I am offending a person any more when I say that the Iraq war isn't going on as was thought it would. The price Bush paid for not listening to the France and Germans. But you are going paying for it a lot more too. Besides the young lives that are spilt, how much money is spilt every day? Sooner or later after the troops are back the real financial damage will be clear as the bill is presented. I think the best that the Democrats should have done from civil perspective is to stop this war and bring the troups home immidiately. But the backside is that economies always bloom in times of war. So after it's over here in Europe amongst leading economists is, a very alarming fear and warning for the possibillity of a free fall of the Dollar A fear that it can cause the biggest economical crises in the world. So maybe it's wise to slow down millitary spending and take some Royalties from those companies that make billions extra because of the war. Money that will help to get the difference between spending and earning in balance.Trust in the Dollar is a must. The goal was achieved Saddam is gone and leave it to the Iraqies now.As soon as consumer faith is needed for a long time to come and if so you will see also people spending again a lot more on new boats.not only the very rich. Over here we are the exemple!

[SomeSailor]

Doug;

I actually support the use of military airlift assets for politicians. I was in VP-31 when we had the CNO's aircraft and we often flew SecDef and others around. It was a great funding line.

Also, Air Mobility Command (formerly MAC) likes it because they get pre-allocated training money and fuel funds. It's a great training opportunity, and when you need the aircraft, they're easy to pre-empt.

Most folks don't understand how a military squadron, who OWNS the aircraft... often can't get the flight hours they need... because of insufficient funding.

[Go Aweigh2452]

I understand the use of military air assets... My gripe is the use of them for family members and relatives going back and forth to home, vacation spots, etc like Peloci is pushing for. On the flip side...

Seems since 9/11 they now use more military assets then before...

What, politicians don't make enough money to go first class now? Are our airports and airlines that unsafe a freckin politician can't be safe after going through TSA (or around)??? Don't a vast majority of airports still have private club areas for those and others that fly public airways and don't want to be in the public eye? Why is it that they can be in front of the public when running for office but can't be seen in public after the election? That's BS... But it is only my two cents (and our tax dollars going to pork)... Where does it stop? Will the locally elected area dog catcher fly mil air too some day in the future? BUNK!!!

[Randygh]

What type of military aircraft would Queenie use to commute back home to San Franfreako? I can't see her strapping her asss into a C-17, C-130 or the backseat of a jamming Intruder. What do the Admirals and Generals use to fly--G IVs, G-Vs, Falcons? I assume those are what Queenie, her cronies and progeny would fly in.

[Go Aweigh2452]

Not sure today but a few years ago they were flying in C-9's. The finest one I flew in was a USMC C-9. It had USMC covered seats that laid back to the full horizontal position, Bose speakers system and state of the art drop down TV's...

[Go Aweigh2452]

Pentagon limits Pelosi jet size
By Charles Hurt and Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 8, 2007


The Department of Defense yesterday sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that puts limits on the size of the plane she may use to travel across the country and restricts the guests she can bring, The Washington Times has learned.
A congressional source who read the letter signed by Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie said it essentially limits her to the commuter plane used by former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, which requires refueling to travel from Washington to Mrs. Pelosi's San Francisco district. A second source, in the Bush administration, confirmed the contents of the letter.

[SomeSailor]

My sister did a tour at AMC in St Louis. They have C-9 Nightingales (DC-9), C-12 Hurons (Beech King Aires), C-20 Gulfstreams, C-21 Learjets, and a few C-26's.

They also have C-17, C-141, and C-5 at their disposal. The C-9 is being replaced by the C-40... a Boeing 737-700 derivative.

I see nothing at all wrong with hauling their butts around. It's a REALLY valuable training opportunity, and as long as the assets are available for use... fly em.

[heymagic]

I'd much rather see my money spent of flying Nancy than buying body for kids in Iraq. Some issues really aren't worth arguing about...